


Still the Same

by Pearl_Unplanned



Series: Cap_Ironman Bingo 2016 (1) [10]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cap_Ironman Bingo, Established Relationship, Insecure Steve, M/M, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Steve is Iron Patriot, Stony Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-19 10:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7358143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Unplanned/pseuds/Pearl_Unplanned
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had been weeks since he'd told his team that he used to be Captain America. Everything was getting better. Steve was Iron Patriot, Tony's boyfriend, an official Avenger. He could fly, protect his team, and he finally felt like he had a place in the future.</p>
<p>Everything is perfect... until it isn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still the Same

**Author's Note:**

> Bingo prompt: image of shattered shield (or, in this AU, armor)  
> It has a [prequel](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5145317).
> 
> The too-long-didn't-read version is:  
> Pre-serum Steve gets attacked by a DoomBot in the tower where he works with the Avengers, giving them strategy and helping them out. He'd been tiny!Steve since he woke up from the ice. Tony, wanting to protect him, makes him the Iron Patriot armor, mostly, until Steve eventually tells him about his Captain America past. Some hurt feelings, but everything works out.

 

            Flying was a lot more fun than Steve had ever expected it to be. Watching Tony shooting through the sky, it seemed like it might just be more than he'd be able to handle. It might feel like the plane again. Steve still wasn't doing so well with planes. But _flying_ , that was something that he could he _loved_.

            It had been five weeks since he'd told the rest of his team that he used to be Captain America. At first, his team had been hesitant—not quite as disbelieving as Tony when he'd first heard. But now the surprise was starting to wear off, and Steve was thankful.

            "Okay, try and up your speed just a little, Steve. You just want to get just a little bit past me," Tony encouraged.

            "I can do that," Steve said. He'd gotten ahold of flying pretty easily, and while Tony _had_ programmed an AI into the suit, Steve hadn't needed to use it as more than a stabilizer. He'd memorized all of the controls long ago, so it was only seconds later before he zoomed out in front of Tony.

            "Good job," Tony encouraged. "Okay, now let's go in for a dive."

            Steve watched the way that Tony moved, and copied exactly what he did, shooting down towards the ground before pulling up at the last second. It was a good thing they were out in the middle of nowhere. Or, at least, that's what Tony liked to call it. Really, it was the farm that Clint owned out in the middle of nowhere. He used the place as a hideaway house, or a place to go if things got bad. He also let Steve practice there, so that if he crashed into anything, it would be the ground and not a bunch of skyscrapers or people.

            "You're getting the hang of this far too quickly," Tony said, crossing his arms as his faceplate flipped up. He was grinning, and Steve couldn't hide his smile as he followed after his iron-clad teammate.

            "I catch on quickly," Steve replied. "And it isn't like I haven't been monitoring you guys and keeping an eye on all of you for months now. I've listened to you talk about your armor a _lot_ , Tony."

            "I guess." He shrugged, opening up the suit. They'd both been leaving them in the garage so that no one would see them if they were trying to fly overhead looking for Iron Man or Iron Patriot. "So, how's the back doing? Is the shield still holding strong?"

            "Yeah," Steve said. The way that Tony had made it was so that the shield was attached to the back of the suit, but when he wanted it, there was a small switch inside his gauntlet that, when activated, would move the shield down onto his right arm. "It's very convenient, thanks."

            "I still can't believe that it's taken you that many weeks just to tell me that you're a living legend," Tony said, wandering over to the fridge that he'd restocked the last time he'd found himself having nothing at the farm house. "I swear, next time you've got something that interesting to say, you definitely should just tell me."

            "It's easier to tell people your secrets after you get to know them for a while," Steve pointed out. "I wasn't supposed to tell anyone—I told S.H.I.E.L.D. that I'd never speak a word of it, but... Somehow Natasha figured it out, and... I knew that I needed to tell you. I shouldn't lie to someone I care about so much."

            "Speaking of that," Tony murmured, snaking his arms around Steve's waist, hugging the blond close. "We're _all alone_ in this house, Steve. We don't get a lot of alone time, not living in that tower of crazy superheroes... We should use this time to our advantage."

            "I like the way you think," Steve murmured, leaning back against Tony's chest. The best part about being so short again was that Tony was able to curl around him so easily. He liked being wrapped up in Tony's arms, snuggled up against his chest. It was so warm, and he felt so... _safe_.

            "Clint doesn't care if we use the spare bedroom," Tony murmured between kisses as he led Steve over to the stairs. "We're just not supposed to go near his room. I think it might have something to do with the comic book collection he keeps in there—"

            "I thought he said stay away from his room," Steve chuckled.

            "I couldn't help it! I wanted to know what was so special about that room," Tony admitted. "You should totally check it out—he's got _so many_ Captain America comics. It looks like _my_ collection..."

            " _Tony_ ," Steve murmured, amused. "Quit talking about comic books and just get me over to that bedroom you were talking about."

            Tony grinned, his hands snaking across Steve's body, pulling off his shirt. The brunet pushed him down onto the bed. His hands gripped Steve's hips, holding him just enough to leave marks. Steve _loved_ it when Tony gave him possessive marks. Steve leaned forward, capturing Tony's lips with his own.

            "God you're so beautiful," Tony moaned, and the way that he attacked Steve's mouth made Steve want to believe what he was saying. He'd never really liked the way he looked before the serum, and while he actually had some muscles nowadays, especially with all of the time and effort he put into training (though it never really showed much), it wasn't like when he was a super-soldier.

            He _loved_ the way that he looked when he was still Captain America. He loved being tall and strong. He loved being able to train without feeling pain in his chest. Now, he didn't have that pain anymore, but he also didn't have those muscles, and he didn't have those extra couple inches that he used to just love.

            It felt nice, being able to be wrapped up in Tony's arms. He still wished that he was able to do the same—when he thought about when he was Captain America, he wished that he could've been able to curl around Tony and protect him from everything. He wished that he could wrap his arms around Tony like Tony did with him.

            Just as the genius was undoing his pants, the Avengers alarm went off.

            "We can never catch a break, huh?" Tony muttered, finding Steve's shirt as the blond redid his pants.

            "Later, I promise," Steve chuckled. They'd been dating for three and a half months now, and Steve loved every second of it. Both ran over to their suits before shooting off into the sky.

            "This is amazing," Steve shouted, following Tony off towards the danger. He'd left his shield back at the farmhouse, so that no one would be able to connect Iron Patriot to Captain America just yet.

            "I should've made one of these for you sooner... I knew that you were great with strategy, and I assumed that you knew how to fight, but I wasn't completely sure about that... And you know that I'd still rather keep you safe at home than off in battle with the team," Tony said, making sure to stay by Steve's side, just in case something might happen. "But I have to admit, if we'd put you in a suit a while ago, you could've been fighting alongside the team for a _long_ time now."

            "I like being with the team," Steve said. "I like helping them, and making sure that nothing bad happens to anyone while I'm out there. And you're a great teacher, Tony, so I feel perfectly safe while I help the team out. It's not like I haven't worked with the team before, I just wasn't able to... until you made this amazing suit."

            "Everyone's still trying to figure out who you are," Tony chuckled. "They still haven't been able to come up with a name yet."

            Steve had always respected privacy, especially after he'd lost it as Captain America. Everyone knew the name 'Steve Rogers,' which was why he loved being a nobody today. If no one knew him, then he wouldn't have to worry about the press.

            "I'm glad no one knows who I am," Steve said, following when Tony veered off to the left.

            "You say that now," Tony mumbled. Steve could hear when the communicators all hooked up. "Okay guys, what's going on? The Iron Avengers are on the way."

            "Doom really doesn't want to let us relax," Clint commented. "I swear, he must be after you, Steve, because he hasn't attacked the city this much since his DoomBot tried to kill you."

            "Great," Steve muttered. After that DoomBot had tried to kill him, Tony had made him the armor. But what no one had ever been able to figure out was _how_ Doom knew that he was in the tower. It wasn't like he'd ever been publically announced to being on the team until after he'd already started using the suit to help the Avengers, so Doom hadn't learned because of that...

            "Tony, you might be able to hack into the programming... they don't seem like the normal ones that Doom's always throwing around. They seem... weaker," Bruce said. Steve could hear his motorcycle in the background. He was probably almost there.

            "Sounds like a plan," Tony replied. "Steve, think you can try out that dive we've been working on?"

            "Of course I can," Steve said. "I won't let you guys down, I promise."

            "Quit saying that Steve, we already know it's true," Natasha spoke up. "Just stay out of trouble. All of you. Clint, you don't need a repeat of two weeks ago."

            "No more falling off buildings, I promise," Clint chuckled. Steve watched Tony dive down to grab him, and get him to a better vantage point.

            Instead of following, Steve headed off towards the DoomBots, blasting the first one out of the sky and making sure that it didn't destroy anything as it fell. Steve loved the adrenaline in his veins as he took down the DoomBots. It had been too long since he'd felt this kind of adrenaline.

            "When we get back to the tower, we should have a movie night tonight. It's been a while since we've all sat down for a movie," Clint commented.

            "Only if it's not another Disney movie," Steve said. "I think we've seen all of them at least twice by now."

            "I'm working on shutting these Bots down. Steve, want to take over aerial for me?" Tony asked.

            "On it," Steve replied, flying off towards where Tony had just been. If he could keep as many DoomBots as he could out of the sky, then there would be less putting his team in danger. Steve loved being useful. He knew that he'd had an important job before, acting like a leader to the team... but now he could be a leader of the team _and_ protect them. He loved it.

            It seemed like an easy fight. The DoomBots were being taken down faster and faster. Steve couldn't help but wonder why Doom had even sent these DoomBots out—they weren't nearly ready to face the Avengers.

            "Guys, something's going on," Steve murmured, flying over to where a large mass of DoomBots had been gathering. "I don't know _what_ , but these DoomBots are way too easy. They may just be..."

            "A distraction." Tony's warning came too late.

            Suddenly there were larger, more powerful DoomBots all around him. Steve tried to take off, but one of them shot off his boot while another one dragged him back down to the ground, slamming him into the concrete. Before Steve could call out for backup, one of the DoomBots ripped off his mask and crushed his comm.

            "Hello, Captain America," Doom's voice said through the speakers of one of the Bots.

            Steve glanced up at the DoomBot before it smashed its fist down against him, shattering the chest-plate of the Iron Patriot suit. He gasped, choking as the wind was knocked out of him. These DoomBots were definitely stronger than even the ones who'd been trying to kill him before.

            How in the world did Doom know that he was Captain America? Before he was able to recover, Steve felt a needle get stabbed into his chest. Then everything went black.

 

            "Steve!" Tony shouted, hearing the crash and fizzle as Steve's suit got smashed and the comm. broken. He let Jarvis finish up the virus that would knock out the DoomBots as he headed over in the direction that Steve had gone in.

            "We should've seen this coming," Clint muttered, and Tony could see him heading in the same direction, too. "He knew Steve was in the tower. I don't know how he knew, but he did. I should've known he was after Steve."

            "We all should've known," Natasha said. "Tony, you got eyes on him?"

            "I've got eyes on where he was... Fuck, he's down," Tony said, blasting a few DoomBots away, catching sight of red, white and blue armor laying in pieces on the ground. "They took him. Shit, he's not here."

            Looking around to figure out where they might've taken Steve, Tony watched as the DoomBots all started up their self-destruct sequences.

            "Jarvis, can you shut them down?" Tony asked. He didn't get an answer as the DoomBots exploded and everything went black.

            When he came to, Tony found himself in a bed back at the tower.

            "We're already tracking down his location," Clint said quietly, and Tony glanced over at him.

            "They got the armor open... He must've been waiting to ambush Steve. Why did I let him out into battle?" Tony mumbled. His whole body ached, but all he cared about was Steve.

            "Maybe because you could never keep him at the tower for long, and if you hadn't made him that suit he would've followed after us anyway," Clint pointed out. Judging by the dark rings around Clint's eyes, he was just as worried and restless as Tony was. "You know it's true. He may not look like Captain America anymore, but he hasn't lost his spirit, Tony. You know that. And when we get him back, he'll still have that. And us. We're never going to abandon him, or give up on him."

            "I know... Did you get the pieces of his armor? I want to fix it. I want him to be safe again... if I can just help him..." Tony murmured, flinching as he sat up. "Can you get the pieces for me?"

            "'Course I can," Clint said, patting his shoulder. "You just have to stay put, got it? No moving."

            Tony sighed but did as he was told. Bruce and Natasha also wandered over when they heard Tony was awake.

            "I've got you set up with that formula we were working on," Bruce said, and Tony nodded. They'd been trying to make something to help the team whenever they were injured. It worked quite well when Clint managed to drop himself off of a building, so Tony knew that it would work well with him, too.

            "We're almost there. We've almost got him," Natasha said quietly. "The moment we find where Doom took him, we're going to get him. And you're going to stay here and recover."

            "If you really think that I'm going to sit here, then you're wrong. I can get another suit here in ten seconds," Tony threatened, though he could see that no one was really expecting him not to come along.

            "He's going to be fine," Bruce said, as if he could sense what everyone in the room was thinking. He probably could. It wasn't like it was that uncommon of a thought—they were _all_ worried about him. Everyone had always treated Steve like he was a part of their family, even when Tony had first dragged him back to the tower. He'd seemed uncomfortable in the beginning, but of course the team had helped Steve feel right at home.

            "I just want to have him back here... it would make everything better," Tony mumbled, sitting up. He could feel that the medicine was already starting to work, and he was already starting to get better. Luckily, it wouldn't be long before he could go find Steve. The moment he could get his boyfriend back, he would.

            "And we'll get him back," Natasha promised.

            It wasn't long before the medicine really took effect, and Tony went to get a non-broken suit.

            "We've almost got a location," Clint said as he walked over. Tony noticed a briefcase in his hands, and almost didn't want to take it. When he did open it, though, he bit his lip upon seeing the shattered chest-plate. He could still hear the arc reactor, somewhere in the briefcase, still spinning... but that suit had been made to _protect_ Steve. Obviously not all of it was in the briefcase, just the shattered chest-plate and main controls, but that meant that at least some of it might still be on Steve. If he had a gauntlet, maybe he could get himself away from Doom...

            "The rest of the suit, or at least all that we could find is back in the lab," Clint said. "Both gauntlets are in the lab, Tony."

            He must've said that aloud. "Shit, he's defenseless then. We need to go find him..."

            "We will, Tony. He's going to be fine. Why would Doom hurt him? He obviously went through a lot of trouble to be able to get to Steve." Quietly, Clint asked, "Do you think he knows? Y'know, about Steve being Cap?"

            "He has to... I don't know how, but he has to..." Tony jumped a little when the 'we've found Steve' alarm went off. "Time to go rescue my boyfriend."

            Stepping into his suit, Tony grabbed Clint before flying off to meet with the rest of the team.

            _I'm coming for you, Steve. I promise._

 

            When Steve woke up again, he could feel an uncomfortable pain on his entire body. Something wasn't right, he could feel that something wasn't right before he could even open his eyes. Groaning, Steve tried to move his arms and found that they were chained down. He could feel bits and pieces of his Iron Patriot armor stuck to him, still locked on upon sensing trauma. The armor was supposed to protect Steve, though now it just felt uncomfortably tight.

            Why did the suit get smaller? What was the point of that?

            "Mr. America, nice of you to join us," a voice said, one that Steve recognized as belonging to Dr. Doom. Looking around, it was easy to catch sight of the man looming nearby. "As you can see, I've engineered the solution to that problem of yours."

            Problem? Steve wasn't quite sure what Doom thought was the problem with him. Unless Doom thought that _he_ was the problem, and he was slowly killing him by making his suit way too small. "Let me out, Doom. You know that the Avengers are going to be here soon. My team's always going to come for me."

            "Not if they don't recognize you," Doom pointed out. "I want the serum in your veins, Rogers. Your team won't be able to find you if you're all locked up, frozen in ice again. I just needed to make sure you knew exactly what was going to happen, so that when the super-soldier I make from your blood kill your team, you'll know exactly who to blame."

            "What?" Steve asked, glancing over at his arms. Those weren't his arms. _Oh my God,_ Steve thought, forcing himself to keep a calm face as he looked around at the rest of his body. This was the body that he'd missed ever since he'd been unfrozen. "What did you do to me?"

            "I reactivated the serum. This way, your blood now contains an activated form of the serum that I can use to create something that will _really_ cause the downfall of your precious Avengers," Dr. Doom said, gripping the front of his shirt. "I need you to know that it'll be your blood that kills your friends."

            "I highly doubt that," Steve growled, looking around the room. He was surprised by the lack of guards. Perhaps they were underestimating him, just like they always did when he was smaller. "The Avengers will be here, and they're going to stop your plan, Doom."

            There was a sense of joy that Steve couldn't contain as he thought about being Captain America again. This could be amazing... He'd _definitely_ be able to help his team right now, like this.

            But then a thought crossed his mind. What would Tony think? Would Tony be disappointed, now that he wouldn't fit into the Iron Patriot armor? Would Tony be disappointed, now that he wasn't small anymore? Now that his genius wasn't able to curl around him like they always did, now that he wasn't 'fun-size' as Tony liked to call him, would Tony leave him? Would he _care?_

            Before Doom had a chance to lock him up, Steve broke free from the chains. Had the villain _really_ thought that those would be enough to hold him down now that he was strong again? Taking out the few guards that were there was easy.

            Realizing that he didn't fit into the air vents that would lead him out of the building was a bit shocking, until Steve remembered that his shoulders were a lot broader now. Sprinting down the hallway instead, he looked around for some sort of exit.

            Doom wasn't allowed to have his blood. He couldn't have the serum. He _couldn't_ let his team get killed because of his mistake. If he hadn't been captured...

            _Can't think about that now, just gotta get out of here._ It was real hard to move with the pieces of his Iron Patriot armor still squeezing his arms and legs in a very uncomfortable way. Tony could get those off later, he just had to get back to Tony first. He could worry about everything else later.

            Steve flinched when he heard an explosion. Surely Doom wasn't going to bring the building down to keep him from escaping, right? One of the boots was still partially connected, and he was able to get it started up, which moved him faster down the hallways.

            When another explosion shook the building, in around the same area—definitely not following him—Steve realized that it must've been his team coming for him.

            Praying that his team wouldn't think differently of him for looking quite different now, Steve headed in the direction of the explosions. It was easier than it should've been to take down the rest of the guards and DoomBots that were supposed to be keeping him locked up. The Bot that had been posing as Doom had already been destroyed, but Steve did have the chance to take down a few Bots before the 'battle' seemed to be ending.

            Steve gasped when something metal crashed into him, though he wasn't very surprised when metal arms wrapped tightly around him.

            "I knew you guys would come for me," Steve murmured.

            "What happened?" Tony asked, pulling away. "What did Doom...? How did you get so tall?"

            "Doom... reactivated the serum, I guess," Steve said, shrugging. "Do you think... you could get the rest of the suit off of me, once we get back to the tower? It's all locked because it doesn't recognize me anymore..."

            "I can get it off," Tony assured him. He sounded so... nervous, and he wasn't looking Steve in the eye. He couldn't be mad, though, because Tony's faceplate was open and Steve was just grateful to see him. "You... you're so tall. I guess I can't call you pipsqueak anymore."

            "Thank you for coming to get me," Steve said, disappointed that Tony wouldn't look him in the eye. He had a feeling that this would happen, seeing that he was so different than before.

            "Steve, man, you're _huge_ ," Clint commented, patting Steve's shoulder. "Is this what you looked like when you were Captain America?"

            "Are you okay?" Natasha asked, pushing Clint to the side.

            "Yes," Steve replied, "to both questions."

            "Great, then we're going back to the tower." Natasha grabbed Steve's arm and started dragging him towards the exit. "Tony, go ahead of us. Can you get a medical room set up, to make sure that everything is fine with him? We need to know that he's going to be okay, now that the serum's been reactivated. Clint, get Bruce under control, and get him back to the van."

            Steve listened, letting Natasha drag him over to the car. He cast a look over at Tony, watching as the armored Avenger's faceplate flipped down before he shot off into the sky, going through a hole that he must've made in the roof.

            "Do you know what it is that Doom used, to restart your serum?" Natasha asked, and Steve couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable at the way everyone was looking at him. He'd never really gotten used to the way that people would check him out. He was aware that he was probably a lot more attractive with the muscles and couple inches that he'd gained.

            "He injected me with something before I passed out... it must've restarted the serum, because when I woke up, I already... looked like this," Steve said, gesturing to himself.

            "Want me to get those off of you?" Natasha asked.

            He shook his head. "I don't want to break it... I don't know it that'll make it harder for Tony to fix..."

            "You still want to be Iron Patriot? You could be Captain America again," Natasha pointed out.

            "I like flying with Tony... I never expected to be Captain America again. I'm perfectly happy being Iron Patriot... I just don't fit into the suit anymore," Steve mumbled, scooting over when Clint dragged Bruce into the van before grabbing the driver's seat.

            "You really _are_ a super-soldier again, aren't you?" Bruce said, and his eyes were wide as he observed Steve. "This is amazing, Steve. I never would've guessed that it would be possible to reactivate the serum... I mean, when you told us, I ran a couple of tests to see if it would be possible, but I wasn't able to find anything at all..."

            "If there's any way that you could look into... reversing it, again... I'd like that," Steve said quietly, ignoring the looks of surprise from his teammates.

            "Why would you... Steve, why would you want me to reverse the serum?" Bruce asked quietly. He'd always been one to worry about the team, just as Steve himself did, though while he knew that he could mother the team a bit, Bruce normally was quiet with his concern, tackling the problem one-on-one.

            "I never really wanted to be Captain America again," Steve mumbled, shrugging. Sure, there were days when he wished that he had the muscles again, or the height... but he never really wanted to be Captain America again. That was one of the reasons why he hadn't taken the shield out into battle just yet. While he was going to do that eventually, he just... didn't feel the need to yet.

            The rest of the ride home was quiet and uncomfortable, and Steve couldn't have been happier when they got to the tower. Jarvis directed him to the lab so that Tony could get the remaining pieces of the Iron Patriot suit off.

            "You don't have to break it... do you?" Steve asked, frowning when Tony nodded.

            "It's stuck... It won't come off unless I cut it off," Tony explained. He had to look up to look into Steve's eyes, and to the blond it felt _wrong_. Tony didn't seem to mind when he took a seat to make it easier for Tony to cut into the metal around his arms and legs. Tony was able to cut down through the metal, mostly, so that it wouldn't cut into Steve's body, and he could easily pull it off.

            "Thanks," Steve said, staring at the broken pieces. He could see a briefcase on one of the tables, with pieces of red, white and blue metal in it. Even when he was smaller, he still had the enhanced senses that came with the serum, and was able to hear the quiet whirring of the arc reactor.

            "So... you look different," Tony commented, and again, it felt weird to have someone look him up and down. "I bet I can make something stronger than Kevlar for you, too. I've been working on a better suit for Clint and Natasha, so that nothing will hurt them... I haven't figured it out completely just yet, but I'm working on it."

            "Will you be able to make the armor... bigger?" Steve asked. He didn't want to burden Tony, he really didn't, but... he didn't want to give up Iron Patriot either. "I-if you have the time, I know you're really busy, especially with what you're already trying to work on..."

            "I mean... it's possible, yes," Tony said. He looked... guarded, and a bit confused. "Bruce already checked you out, right? To make sure that you're healthy? I mean, I'm sure you are, but no one ever thought the serum could be restarted..."

            "No, he still wants to check," Steve sighed. "I just wanted to get the suit off first."

            "I got the first room ready... he's probably expecting you." Steve wished that Tony wanted him in the lab instead, but he could tell when someone was dismissing him. He was used to it growing up, so he just nodded and left.

            His team just wanted to make sure that he was okay, that was it. And Tony just wanted him to be safe and healthy. He wasn't dismissing Steve because he was different now. As long as Steve kept telling himself that, he might be able to eventually believe it.

            "The good news is that the serum doesn't seem to be having any negative effects on you now that it's been restarted," Bruce said after an examination and some blood tests. "Are you sure that you want me to look for a way to reverse it again? Because I can look, if you want me to."

            "Please," Steve said, nodding. "Whenever you have time... like you said, it isn't like I'm getting hurt from having it."

            "I think we need to talk sometime," Bruce murmured, giving Steve a knowing look. "But until you're ready, I think it would be good for you to go get some food. You haven't had anything today, since you were out flying with Tony this morning, and your metabolism has definitely sped up again."

            "It was always higher than normal," Steve mumbled. "S'why medicine struggles to work... but I guess I'm back to no painkillers, no getting drunk, and having to eat a lot more than normal again. Great."

            Bruce didn't look happy with the way that Steve was talking about himself, but he didn't stop him, to which Steve was thankful.

 

            "So is it because you're not used to looking like you did when you were Captain America again, or is it something else?" Steve hated to admit that he'd been avoiding his team for a while now, yet somehow Bruce had managed to track him down.

            "A little of both," Steve admitted, because he wasn't good at lying to his team. He knew that, so he didn't even try anymore. He didn't know how he'd managed to keep his Captain America secret for so long.

            Bruce took a seat next to him, and Steve knew he wasn't getting out of this.

            "I'm not used to being... like this," Steve said, curling up a little, pulling his knees up against his chest. "I haven't looked like this since the forties. It's just... different, for me. I don't _want_ to be Captain America again—I've never really wanted to. When Tony gave me the Iron Patriot armor, I was thrilled to be able to fight alongside you guys. I don't want things to change, now that... I look different."

            "Are you concerned what Tony's going to think?" Bruce asked, and Steve glanced down at the ground. His team knew him far too well.

            "We've been together for a while now, and I don't want anything to change. I want to go back to being Iron Patriot, I want to go back to our room without worrying about how Tony might feel about me looking like this..." Steve said. Talking with Bruce was a lot easier than talking with anyone else, as much as Bruce claimed not to be 'that kind of doctor'.

            "Do you really think Tony would care? You two have been together for months. You're still the same person, even if you look a bit different," Bruce pointed out. "I think you need to go talk to Tony about this. He'd understand your concern, and he'd listen to you, Steve. He really does care about you," Bruce said, standing up. "You've already skipped out on team dinner. I don't think he'd be happy if you didn't go to bed tonight. I know that you two share a room now."

            "I'll head up there..." Steve mumbled, sighing. "...Do you think there might be a way to turn me back?"

            Bruce's concerned look was enough to tell Steve probably not. It was a bit disappointing, but he really hadn't been expecting anything else. The super-soldier serum _was_ a tricky thing, after all. The scientists who knew the most about it were all dead, and his two fellow Avengers were the only ones who'd gotten a chance to look at it in its activated form.

            "I can continue looking," Bruce said. He didn't sound very hopeful. "But if I _was_ able to figure out a way to reverse the serum, it looks like the only way I'd be able to do it would be to completely get rid of it, which would bring back all of the health problems that you used to have... And I wouldn't do that to you, Steve. If there was a safe way, and you really wanted to turn back, then I would, but if it's going to negatively affect your health, then as your friend and doctor I wouldn't, no matter how much you want me to."

            "I understand," Steve said, flinching a little as he stood up. He didn't like having to look down at his friends now—he was taller than _all_ of them, when he was used to being so much shorter than all of them. "I guess I'll see you in the morning then... Thanks, Bruce. I know that I shouldn't avoid anyone, especially Tony, but... thanks."

            "No problem, just make sure you talk to Tony," Bruce said, patting his back before he headed off towards his room.

            Steve hadn't expected his boyfriend to be waiting outside of their room, head resting on his knees, curled up and mostly asleep.

            "Hey darling," Steve murmured, not even thinking about it as he gathered Tony up in his arms and carried him over to their bed, gently placing him down onto the sheets.

            "You came back," Tony said, stretching and yawning. "I was wondering if you were going to continue avoiding me or not."

            "I wasn't trying to," Steve said, hesitating for a moment before he settled down on the bed. Tony smiled and rolled over onto his side so that he could look eye to eye with Steve.

            "You never came back to the lab. I helped Bruce out for a while, and I started drawing up some plans, but I don't have any measurements," Tony said, yawning again. "Bruce said you didn't want to be Captain America again, and we weren't finding a way to reverse the serum... plus you asked me if I could make it bigger, so... Once you come down to the lab, I can get started on that. Might need to reteach you some stuff, seeing that your aerodynamics will be different."

            Tony must've been able to see the confusion on his face. "Iron Patriot... I thought you still wanted to be Iron Patriot."

            "I do!" Steve said quickly. "I just... was hoping that Bruce might be able to reverse the serum first, so you wouldn't have to make a new suit for me."

            "It's no big deal," Tony said, shrugging. "I like making suits, and I like upgrading my team's armor. If you don't want to be Captain America, then I won't make you any Captain America suits. If you want to be Iron Patriot, I'll make sure that the suit fits you. Unless you want to be shorter again—that's all up to you. Though I remember a certain someone telling me that if he was taller, he'd wrap himself around me and never let me go."

            "I was drunk," Steve defended, because of yeah, that was something else that he wasn't going to be able to do. He wasn't able to have Tony wrapped around him, keeping him safe, and he wasn't able to get drunk with his fella anymore. "Though it is true."

            "Really?" Tony asked, scooting closer. Steve smirked, gripping Tony's waist with both hands, pulling him closer, turning Tony around so that his back was pressed to his chest. He curled around his fella, keeping an arm placed securely around his chest.

            "And... you don't care that I'm not small anymore?" Steve asked quietly, kissing the back of his neck.

            "You're still you," Tony pointed out, taking Steve's hand in his own. "And I still love you, Steve, whether you're six foot two or five foot four, I still care about you. No matter what you want to look like, I'd still be here, Steve. If you were cursed to look like some hideous monster, I'd still be here. Just tell me what you want, Steve, and I'll try to help."

            "I don't know yet," Steve whispered. It was a lot to think about. He could be a super-soldier again... if he wanted to be. But he'd figure that all out in time. Until then, he'd just have to keep a tight hold on his genius, and just be grateful to be able to have Tony in his arms, happy and accepting of him. "Thank you for staying."

            "I'd always stay," Tony said, kissing Steve's hand. "No matter what."


End file.
